Getting newly insured to use coverage

A major Mississippi insurer is taking a creative tack to persuade new Obamacare customers to become health care users, not just policyholders.

Humana, one of two insurers to offer coverage in the state through a health insurance marketplace, recently obtained Obama administration approval to waive fees for enrollees who see a doctor by the end of June for a nonpreventive visit. Obamacare already requires free coverage of preventive visits, but companies can charge co-pays for appointments other than regular checkups.

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The plan, approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, is about “encouraging our Mississippi members on the Health Insurance Marketplace, many of whom have been without insurance and whose access to care may have been affected as a result, to visit a primary care physician to identify undiagnosed conditions as soon as possible,” according to an explanation of the policy obtained by POLITICO.

A Humana spokesman said the approach aims to get Mississippians engaged in their health care.

“As you may know, Mississippi has some of the nation’s highest health care costs because of the comparative unhealthiness of the state’s population (i.e., obesity, diabetes, other chronic health conditions), and historically Mississippians have not had widespread access to affordable, quality health care,” spokesman Mitch Lubitz wrote in an email.

State Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said he wasn’t sure initially that the financial carrot would work, but he now describes it as an “effective” tool that’s fueling a surge in enrollment. CMS offered conditional approval of the policy early this month.

Concerted enrollment efforts in Mississippi — an anti-Obamacare haven — have helped increase exchange customers at a faster rate than in any other state. More than 8,000 Mississippians signed up in January, a 117 percent hike from the state’s total enrollment over the previous three months.

The next closest state, Florida, saw an 87 percent enrollment jump in January.

To aid the effort, Humana launched a mobile enrollment tour, sending buses to areas with high uninsured rates and spreading the word about new coverage options. The company is joining with advocates and its lone competitor, Magnolia Health, to launch a five-stop visit Wednesday sponsored by Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi’s only congressional Democrat.

Humana expects to notify customers about the new policy by the beginning of March. Magnolia Health has not said whether it is considering a similar policy.

CMS was not immediately available to comment on the new benefit. But in approving the proposal, officials pointed out that it would be available to anyone who signs up in the exchange.

Lubitz said Humana has no plans as of now to expand the benefit outside Mississippi.